Inspiration / 3 min readThe Union in Frame journal
Golden hour and sunset: planning portraits through the wedding year
Words by Union in Frame
Golden hour is the soft, low light in the last hour before sunset. In the UK that means after eight on a midsummer evening and mid-afternoon once the clocks go back, so your timings depend on your date. Winter has its own article; this one covers the rest of the year.
What golden hour actually gives you
When the sun sits low, shadows lengthen and light reaches your faces from the side rather than from above. It is kind to skin and eyes, and all you need is an open view towards the setting sun.
In the UK golden hour often arrives under cloud. A clear evening gives warm colour; an overcast one gives soft, even light without the glow. Plan for the softness and treat the colour as a bonus. After sunset the light fades quickly in spring and autumn and lingers in midsummer.
What time golden hour falls through the year
Count back an hour from sunset to find your golden hour. In the south of England, sunset is around half past seven once the clocks go forward at the end of March, close to nine by late May and well after nine at midsummer. Further north, summer evenings run later still.
The evenings then shorten, slowly at first. By late August sunset is around eight, by the end of September it is before seven, and once the clocks go back in late October it is before five. Check the exact time for your venue and date.
Summer midday light and where to find shade
A one o’clock ceremony in July puts confetti and family groups under a high sun. Faces squint, eyes sink into shadow and pale fabrics lose detail against dark suits. Thin cloud helps, and often arrives, but you cannot book it.
Open shade solves most of this. Look for the north side of a building, a covered walkway, a shaded doorway or trees with even cover. Where there is none, stand with your backs to the sun. Save the sunlit lawn for the evening, when the lower sun makes the same spot kinder.
Slot a fifteen-minute portrait break into the meal
From late spring to early autumn the best light often lands during the meal or the speeches; at midsummer it can be later, nearer the first dance. Rather than reorder the evening, agree a short break in advance: after the main course, or between the speeches and dessert. Tell the venue coordinator and caterer so service can pause without anyone chasing you.
Choose a spot within two minutes’ walk of the room. Fifteen minutes is enough for a handful of portraits and a breath of air, and the same break serves film and same-day content.
Autumn colour and the early dusk
September and October bring a lower sun through the afternoon and, often from mid-October, colour on the trees. Leaves turn at different times each year, so enjoy what is there rather than planning around one tree.
The trade-off is a dusk that comes early and fast. Once the clocks go back, a two o’clock ceremony leaves roughly two hours of daylight afterwards, so golden hour falls during the drinks reception. Do groups and portraits straight after the ceremony, before the meal; an earlier ceremony buys more time. Then let the evening be candlelit.
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